Amid growing concerns over banking practices and financial fraud, Bandhan Group Chairman Chandra Sekhar Ghosh has urged banks to immediately stop misselling and refocus on customer service over aggressive targets.
“Misselling should to immediately stop, no doubt. It is not good. It is a target. When you [banks] give the target, that will happen. I have been saying that in the private sector there is too much of target. Every morning they discuss on that what is your today’s target. It [banking] is not the targets business, it is a customer service business,” Mr. Ghosh said in an interview.
He said Bandhan Bank did not sell insurance or mutual fund products in its first 5 years. “We started after 5 years as customers asked for it, else they could have gone elsewhere. Now if any misselling happens we return the money within 24 hours. If you (staff] are not returning back money you will be terminated,” he added.
On fraud cases involving private bank employees, he stressed stronger branch-level supervision. “After digital banking, the number of frauds have increased. Peoples’ greediness has increased. In NBFC and microfinance, people are more motivated to work, not to work for money. That has enabled our people to stay far away from the money,” he said.
He highlighted the need for strict monitoring. “Integrity has to come from the environment and from the checks and balances. The maker and checker need to be different persons. The checker must be of higher level. If monitoring supervision is hard no one like to do a fraud. Monitoring supervision is very important.”
Welcoming the Union Budget proposal for a High-level Committee on Banking for Viksit Bharat, Mr. Ghosh called for revising the Banking Regulation Act of 1949. “This cannot be achieved without banking support. So, the Act should be revised,” he said, noting India’s rapid economic expansion.
He pointed to ownership limits, stating, “If you are the MD of the bank, your total family cannot invest more than ₹5,00,000. This needs to change.”
Mr. Ghosh said 85% of India’s population still lacks access to credit. “Inequality in our country is growing… We should need to align the banking industry… to minimise inequality.”
He also advocated expanding rural branches and announced plans to open more schools and hospitals, funded by philanthropy, after donating 98% of his income and retaining 2% for himself.
Also read: Viksit Workforce for a Viksit Bharat
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